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Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 04 1997, 843-846, Vol 35, No. 4
C Sola, L Horgen, KS Goh and N Rastogi
Because of a substantial increase in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
infection and HIV-linked tuberculosis in the Caribbean, a molecular
fingerprinting study of clinical isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis
isolated at the Pasteur Institute of Guadeloupe from 1994 to 1995 was
undertaken with the insertion sequence IS6110 and the direct repeat DRr
probes. We present the results for 72 isolates from 51 patients. A major
cluster (cluster A) representing isolates from 12 patients (24%) was
detected upon PvuII-IS6110 fingerprinting, which revealed a pattern of four
bands among these isolates. Homogeneity was retained when the isolates were
further analyzed with the DRr probe or further characterized by AluI and
SmaI-DRr restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The isolates of
cluster A, from 10 men and 2 women, was present in people of all ages and
of different ethnic and geographical backgrounds, and infection with these
isolates was independent of the HIV status of the patients (except for 2
HIV- positive patients from the same ward from whom the tubercle bacilli
were isolated at the same time). The percentage of reactivation versus
active transmission events could not be precisely determined in this study.
These results are discussed on the basis of the genetic advantage of
predominant clusters and/or specific characteristics of the settings from
which a similar cluster of isolates with four bands has so far been
reported, which include South Africa, French Polynesia, and Guadeloupe.
Copyright © 1997 by the American Society for Microbiology. All rights reserved.
Molecular fingerprinting of Mycobacterium tuberculosis on a Caribbean island with IS6110 and DRr probes
Unite de la Tuberculose et des Mycobacteries, Institut Pasteur, Pointe a Pitre, Guadeloupe, French West Indies.
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